However, Lygus did not have time to celebrate before another sequence of electrical signals appeared.
[EpieiKeia216]
[Track: Death]
[Primum Mobile: Abundance]
[Note: Added 841,034 Coreflames. Abundance is active, with no substantial changes.]
"So, the Coreflames now got split, and once again, the Abundance is messing things up..."
Lygus wanted to know how the Path of Abundance had even gotten inside Amphoreus, considering the Scepter's defense network had two layers—time and space—plus an additional isolation zone.
It could block even Polka Kakamond's observation, so how could it not withstand the Abundance?
In fact, even he himself couldn't locate where this Abundance had come from, which was absurd.
"I need to use my avatar to check out this recurrence..."
Feeling uneasy, Lygus ultimately controlled his avatar in Amphoreus to search for the Chrysos Heirs.
===
Eternal Holy City of Okhema.
After finishing up matters in the Grove of Epiphany, the group immediately returned to the Okhema.
However, upon arrival, they saw the honorary and distinguished member of the Council of Elders, Lygus, already waiting for them.
"I've been waiting for you all for quite some time."
Lygus, speaking in a gentlemanly manner, glanced at Khaslana standing beside Phainon and smiled faintly as if catching a trace, then shifted his gaze to the 'mutated' Tribios, Castorice, and Polyxia.
Originally, the test subject 'NeiKos496' had already reached the verge of collapse and was about to end the eternal recurrence. Yet these three mutated women, blessed by the Abundance, had suddenly appeared to prevent the birth of Irontomb.
He couldn't help but wonder—who the hell had interfered with these women?
Nevertheless, though annoyed, Lygus still pretended to be polite and bowed to the group, but...
*Swish!*
Just as Lygus bent down to give a gentlemanly bow, a blaze of sword-light struck.
*Thud!*
Lygus's severed head rolled onto the ground.
"He's Lycurgus, the manipulator behind it all." Khaslana said with disdain and kicked Lygus's head away. "He loves to mislead others, and his clones never stop coming. If you see him, make sure to kill him."
Everyone looked at the decisive Khaslana—his cold indifference, ignoring everything, was nothing like Phainon at all.
It was hard to imagine how thirty million recurrences had driven a cheerful and sunny young man to madness.
As Lygus's severed head still sparked with crackling electricity, Mydei walked over and picked it up.
"Well, I'm going to hang this in Castrum Kremnos as the first elder decoration."
Now that the high-ranking members of the Council of Elders were dead, Aglaea had gained control over most of Okhema's hearts and minds.
And since there was no longer any need for the Flame-Chase Journey or for hunting the three Titans of Calamity, they only had to defend Amphoreus against the black tide and wait for Lucian's arrival.
In the end, after a brief discussion, their course of action moving forward was decided.
Mydei returned to Castrum Kremnos to resist the black tide on the outskirts.
Castorice and Polyxia continued to maintain stability in the nether realm.
Khaslana remained in Okhema under Aglaea's watch, living in relative comfort.
Phainon still devoted his whole mind to saving the world, roaming everywhere to purge the black tide with his new demigod power.
As a result, the situation in Okhema gradually stabilized.
Meanwhile, the Deliverer they awaited was still on a planet billions of light-years away, deducing the situation through the System.
===
Jarilo-VI, Belobog.
In a vast clearing near Belobog's outskirts, Lucian was still sitting on a soft and luxurious sofa with Jade, waiting for the investigation results from the IPC staff.
A few moments later, as Lucian saw that his two abilities had returned, while the suffix beside Tribios, Castorice, and Polyxia remained at 1, he breathed a sigh of relief.
'Not a single death, huh...' Lucian stroked his chin thoughtfully. 'So that means the Flame Reaver's already been taken care of?'
He had to admit that facing the Flame Reaver, who had absorbed over four hundred million Coreflames, would have been troublesome. Fortunately, since those Coreflames were merely sealed within its body, they could be stripped away by using Disarm.
Now that the trouble had been resolved, he could finally relax and close the System's panel.
Lucian sat for a while longer, waiting for some discovery, but even after searching for half an hour, the IPC staff still found nothing.
In the end, he gave a casual farewell to Jade and left, teleporting to the Qlipoth Fort.
As soon as he appeared in the Qlipoth Fort, he happened to see Herta walking alone in the corridor.
Curious, he asked one of the Silvermane Guards standing nearby, and upon learning from one of the Silvermane Guards nearby that she actually wanted to borrow the kitchen to make a cake, he immediately moved.
"Don't let her into the kitchen!"
At Lucian's command, the Silvermane Guards in the corridor immediately blocked the kitchen door.
Herta, frowning, turned toward the voice—and when she saw it was Lucian, she was instantly furious.
"What's that supposed to mean?! Did Qlipoth build your kitchen or something?! With our relationship, you won't even let me use it?!"
"Let you use it?" Lucian walked closer and chuckled. "C'mon, don't you have any self-awareness? You know where we are—tons of people around. If this place blows up, it's gonna be super troublesome."
He knew very well that Herta was fine in every other way, but her hands were anything but steady.
Cooking?
She could blow the whole kitchen sky-high.
For all he knew, she might already have some strange curios hidden under her witch hat, ready to toss into the pot as some kind of seasoning.
"Tch..." Herta clicked her tongue in annoyance, then grabbed Lucian's arm. "In that case, you do it."
Ignoring the Silvermane Guards, Herta barged straight into the kitchen, dragging Lucian along with her.
"Even if Droidhead didn't answer me, at least his eyes landed on me—that's progress." Herta folded her arms while staring at the handsome man before her. "Because of that, I wanna make a cake to celebrate."
Upon hearing this, Lucian couldn't help but roll his eyes, thinking that she was truly skilled at self-consolation and denial.
"Speaking of Droidhead, shouldn't we sign a contract?" Lucian pulled out a contract he had already prepared. "Remember, you'll work for me for ten years."
"Look at you, so desperate to get me..." Herta rolled her eyes, then sighed. "Fine, I'll go along with it."
In the next moment, she flicked her hair, conjured a pen from thin air, signed her name on the contract, and then pressed her handprint without a change in expression.
Because she had already witnessed Lucian's ability to summon Nous again and again, she had naturally given up on any small schemes by now, believing that a proper partnership with him was the only way to keep getting chances to see Aeons.
"Do well, and soon you'll casually meet Aeons just like me..." Lucian stored the contract away and smiled with satisfaction.
"Tch, stop showing off." Herta rolled her eyes again. "Alright, hurry up and make that cake to congratulate me."
Seeing her demanding attitude, Lucian felt helpless, finally understanding the feeling of having a Gen Z worker.
"By the way, where's Screwllum?"
"Heard there's a group of robots underground, so he went to help upgrade them."
"And Ruan Mei?"
"She went into the wild to study ecosystems influenced by the Abundance while experimenting with that ancient beast you resurrected for her."
Lucian and Herta chatted as they worked together to make the cake.
"Goddamn, Herta! What the hell are you putting in the bowl?!"
"What are you so worked up about? It's just a Space-Time Prism. It looks like a pretty cheese, so the cake will look pretty too."
"What the hell? Isn't that the cheese that increases your Eidolon? You can't add that!"
"Eidolon? What's that? No—more importantly, why can't I add it?!"
"Why? Because I'm not only your boss but also the only one who can let you meet Aeons. If I say no, then no!"
"Damn it... Fine, I won't put it in. Hmph, I wanna see if you can make it taste that good."
And so, after half an hour of bickering, a fragrant cake was finally ready.
Looking at the cake—beautiful in appearance, amazing in aroma, and promising to taste just as good—Lucian nodded in satisfaction at his creation.
Meanwhile, Herta pretended to forget what she had just said and immediately scooped a spoonful straight into her mouth.
"Mmm... Yummy~"
Aside from yummy, she could think of no other word.
"Next time Ruan Mei's experiment fails, make her one too." Herta said, pointing her spoon at Lucian. "And when that happens, remember to invite me, okay?"
Right after saying this, she wholeheartedly focused on continuing to eat the cake gracefully and elegantly. Casually reclining on the sofa, she spooned small bites of cake into her cherry-like mouth, one after another, with a delighted expression.
Sadly, while savoring such a fine dessert, her lips must have been sweet, yet no one had the chance to taste them.
Before long, just as Lucian was enjoying this pleasant time alone with a beauty, his phone suddenly rang.
Curious, he immediately opened his phone, and in that instant, he found a surprising message.
[Xianzhou Luofu sincerely invites Mr. Lucian to visit. All expenses for the trip will be waived.]
Reading this message, Lucian raised his eyebrows in mild surprise.
Apparently, the invitation came directly from the official account of Xianzhou Luofu, bearing Jing Yuan's signature.
To Lucian's surprise, a message from Feixiao arrived immediately after—she informed him that Baiheng had appeared in the Xianzhou Yaoqing, and because she claimed she was related to him, she was now undergoing verification at the Xianzhou Yuque.
Teng Xiao had also returned to life, suddenly appearing inside the Seat of Divine Foresight, which alarmed the higher-ups of the Xianzhou Alliance.
In the end, the Arbiter-Generals convened a brief meeting because of that, and ultimately decided to invite him and the Xianzhou Cangcheng to the Xianzhou Luofu for an audience.
'Another Arbiter-General revived because of me... No wonder they sought me out...' Lucian thought with a serious expression. 'Honestly, I didn't expect Teng Xiao to also be influenced by the script and appear in the real world...'
Recalling that giant man, he replied to the message, agreeing to come and stating that he would arrive tomorrow.
Now that it had come to this, it was evidently time to visit the Xianzhou Luofu.
===
[A bonus chapter for every 500 Power Stones.]
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